Tag Archives: movie

With the official Accio Books campaign wrapped, we talked about the books we had donated for both Beaumont and Words Alive. Of the initial list from Beaumont, there were only 10 books we didn’t get, and we fell short on our goal of 36 copies of “This Side of Home” by 6 copies. We’ll be delivering those books to Beaumont later this month.

The books going to Words Alive will be shipped in the next couple of weeks. (Thanks to Robin for the boxes!) Per the group’s agreement, the House Points reported to the HPA for our donations were given to Hufflepuff, as they were the clear winner of our chapter competition. I will make an official announcement regarding the final standings on Tuesday.

Harry Potter comes to Kennedy School!

On Saturday, Brandie and I met with Beth from McMenamin’s Kennedy School. They will be showing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on Sunday, July 30, 2017. Our chapter will be “hosting” the showing, with a costume contest, trivia competition, school supply drive, and raffle. The movie will begin at 12pm, with the doors opening at 10:45, and the activities beginning around 11:15.

Proceeds from the raffle will be going to IRCO (Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization), and if they have use for the school supplies, they will go to IRCO as well. If not, we will need to find a secondary charity to donate supplies to. If you have a suggestion, please let us know!

We will also need to gather up raffle prizes! We are planning to have a specialized prize for each House, as well as a Grand Prize. We will be contacting local businesses for donations. If you have items of your own you’d like to donate, including HP crafts, we’d love to have it!

Even more importantly, we need volunteers! The Kennedy School theater holds 200, and I’d be shocked if it wasn’t full. We will need 1-2 people at the raffle/donation drop off table, someone at the door to give out programs, and 1-2 people to assist during the costume contest and trivia. Volunteers would need to be available from about 10am until the movie begins. You are responsible for buying your own movie ticket ($4), but they may be other perks. (See below.)

Participation Recognition

We’ve talked at previous meetings about how to reward anyone who gets actively involved with our chapter. Already, we are recognizing people who have assisted on previous events by placing them in the appropriate Years. (For example, Morgan Johnson has been to both HEAP events, as well as Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad, and she attended a meeting, so she is officially a Fourth Year. Someone who is a member of the FB group but has never participated is a First Year. Once all the Years are completed, you can pick your own title, such as Katie Anderson, Professor of Transfiguration.)

We are going to add collectable badge ribbons, one for each event. HEAP ribbons will be based on the year attended, rather than the total number we’ve done. So if you’ve been to both, you can get a HEAP Year One and a HEAP Year Two ribbon. If this year was your first year, you get a HEAP Year One. Does that make sense? We will also be getting “Wizard Activist” ribbons, which will be awarded for cumulative participation. (To be determined.)

FINALLY…

The Yule Ball. Yes, we want to make it happen. We will be researching possible locations and discussing what sort of event we want it to be in the near future. As we begin to plan, transparency is going to be a big part of what we do. We discussed and agreed that Kickstarter may be the way to sell advance tickets and gage the level of interest. We’d love to have an elaborate ball with a hotel partner, waltzing lessons, plated dinner, and live music, but we need to make sure that we could sell enough tickets to cover the costs.

You can help us out by giving us feedback as we plan and share the details of that plan. I know what sort of Yule Ball I want to attend, but it’s more important that it be a Yule Ball YOU want to attend.

We have not set a date for the next meeting, but I will share it as soon as we do.

On Friday, November 18th, the PDX HPA hosted “Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad”, a ticketed fundraiser for TransActive Gender Center, in the Backstage Bar at the Bagdad Theater. Food and a ticket to the movie were included in the night, and we had quidditch pong, a wand raffle, and some truly excellent swag bags for each guest. We also were allowed to enter the theater through a “Portkey Door”, which meant our guests didn’t have to stand in the long line that had formed at the front.

We sold enough tickets for a small donation for TransActive, but our guests once again demonstrated that they are the best people in the world. Aside from buying tickets for the wand raffle, a number of people insisted upon donating without receiving tickets in return. The proceeds were large enough to allow us to split them between the HPA and TransActive.

We will be donating a total of $400 to their organization, but this event was about far more than that. TransActive and organizations like them need support more than anything else right now. Aside from the people who attended and donated, we also spread the message of TransActive’s good work to a lot of new people. Jenn Burleton, director of TransActive, was at our party, and she spoke to me of how genuinely kind and giving she’d found everyone to be.

All in all, it was a fun night, and we did some good. That’s as it should be. We don’t know what we’ll be doing next, but I can guarantee it will be magical.

Get those Time Turners ready! Our next event is going to be “Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad”, on Friday, November 18th, 2016, at the Bagdad Theater. We have two rooms reserved in the Backstage Bar, where we’ll be celebrating the newest addition to J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding world. There will be food, drinks, a wand raffle, and a special Very Magical Person entrance into the theater, so our guests do not have to wait in line.

All of this, of course, is in continued support of the Protego campaign. Our charity partner for the event is TransActive Gender Center, a local organization that focuses on supporting children, families, and educators. All profits from ticket sales will be donated to them, with the wand raffle proceeds being applied to future HPA endeavors.